Five Reasons My Home is Always Clean

We live in a life that is incredibly understanding of women who can't get everything done, and I love that, because I certainly don't get it all done; however, I do keep a spic and span home. Various people do this in different ways because people live different lives. Here are some of the ways I keep my home clean:

1. I don't have a junk drawer. I know; everyone does, but I don't. I used to have multiple ones, but since our family embraced minimalism, I've eliminated them completely. Everything has a place, and I find that incredibly freeing. I think that allowing every object in your home a space where it belongs is one of the key ways to keep it tidy.

2. I clean up as I go. This is a pretty simple concept I was slow to appreciate, because it felt like a waste of time rather than actually helpful. The idea of washing a bowl as soon as I was done using it when I would be getting several more dishes dirty during my cooking process when I could wait until after supper seemed silly, but I found that doing them as I cooked made dishes after supper seem a lot less intimidating. I get to them immediately rather than putting it off because I know it will only take five to ten minutes.

3. As I prepare to move from one room to another, I tidy up before leaving. I put anything away I was using, transfer anything that doesn't belong, and generally clean up. This habit means that any time I leave a room, I'm leaving it clean, which means there's no particular part of the day I need to set aside for any room. This frees up my schedule and feels like doing nothing.

4. I make the beds every morning. I don't even think about it, anymore, and on the rare days I forget, I feel off until it's done. Starting every morning with that minute of tidying prepares my hands for similar work throughout the day.

5. I curb the clutter. Minimalism has been a huge gift in this way. Because we own so few things and keep decorations to a minimum, cleaning is always brief – even a thorough vacuum or dust. If someone showed up in the middle of a Wednesday, I could host with no embarrassment over a messy home. There are a few days here and there when I have a project going on, but those are contained in a room guests are unlikely to see, so even that is rarely a problem.